


The Doe

by VioletKnox



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/M, Light Angst, Minor Character Death, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 16:50:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20969846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletKnox/pseuds/VioletKnox
Summary: You go looking for Severus when he doesn’t come home from an Order’s mission only to be utterly shocked by what you find.





	The Doe

Severus had told you to stay put as he wanted no harm to befall you, but staying put was not one of your strong suits. Two full hours had already passed since he left you at your home in Spinner’s End on a mission for the Order. 

You knew that the lives of the Potters were in peril, but you couldn’t help but worry over Severus instead as his position as a spy was not an easy one. It weighed heavily on your relationship and it almost broke you two apart. But here you were living together, making the best of a tough situation. 

You paced around the sitting room for the millionth time before finally deciding to grab your cloak and try to find Severus. You gripped your wand and quickly apparated to Godric’s Hollow. You figured you would start your hunt for Severus at the Potter’s sense it was them he was on a mission to protect. 

To your horror, you found the house had reappeared, indicating that the Fidelius Charm had been broken. You kept your wand stead as you quietly entered the house, peering at every corner, looking for movement. As you made your way up the stairs, you saw a body lying on its side. 

Making your way over, you flipped the corpse over and recognized him as James Potter. Your heart began pumping as you gazed at his empty eyes. You gently closed his eyelids and prayed Severus had not met the same fate. 

You began to search each room until you reached the end of the hall when you suddenly heard a small creek in the room you had yet to check. Your breath hitched, hoping you had imagined the sound as you slowly reached for the door knob and pressed your wand up high against the crack between the door and its frame. 

Not wanting to take the chance of the sound of the door opening giving away your position, you quickly threw all your weight into it and peered around the room. You gasped at the sight in front of you as you saw Lily Potter lying dead in front of a crib holding a wide-eyed baby boy. Your gaze then landed on the gloomy figure in the corner of the room who had been staring at you the second you entered.

“Severus?” you whispered. Your eyes shifted between Harry and Severus as you noticed them both holding streams of dried tears down their cheeks. You made your way over to Severus to see if he was hurt as Harry seemed uninjured at first glance. “Sev?”

Severus didn’t move from his position, crouched down on the floor with his arms around his knees as his eyes were locked on your slowly approaching form. You kneeled beside him and began looking him over as you placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping he would speak or move. You didn’t notice anything alarming further than his blood shot eyes, so you tried speaking to him again.

“Severus, look at me,” you cupped his cheeks as his eyes met yours. “You need to stand up for me. Can you do that?”

“(Y-Y/N)?” he stuttered. “W-what are you d-doing here?” his voice was barely above a whisper and it broke your heart to see him in such a state. “I-I told you to stay put.”

“You’ve known me for how long now Severus? You didn’t really expect me to stay put forever did you?”

“I-I-,” his voice was lost as tears streamed down his face and his gaze shifted away from you. 

“Sev. Please,” you begged as you placed yourself beside him, forcing him into your arms as you stroked his hair in comfort. He sobbed into your chest and you peered up to see that Harry had turned his attention to you. The poor boy had lost both his parents tonight and he would never know what kind of people they were. 

In the new light, you noticed a small gash shaped like a lightning bolt on Harry’s forehead, but as he didn’t seem bothered by it, you assumed it was safe to heal him later. 

After a long while, Severus calmed down enough to raise his head from your shoulder. “He-he k-killed her,” he whispered as his head hung low, allowing his hair to cover his face. 

“Sev, what happened?” you said, lifting his chin up slowly as you peered into his eyes. “What happened to him?”

“He’s gone. Killed from the same curse that killed her.”

You peered back at Lily’s dead body and realized that you needed to get Severus and Harry out of there before any Death Eaters came looking for their master. 

“Sev, we need to go,” you said to him. Severus slowly began to nod his head in agreement, and you helped him off the ground. Once you felt like he was strong enough to stand on his own, you let go of him to grab Harry from his crib. The baby protested at first before you turned, and his green eyes landed on his mother’s body. 

You offered Severus your free hand and lead him out of the house. Harry began to cry as he struggled in your arms when you took him away from his parents and the only home he knew. As you looked back at the broken home, you debated on where you should go. Deciding to head home, you clutched onto Severus as you held Harry tightly and disappeared, reappearing in your sitting room at Spinner’s End. 

Severus looked around before he eventually sat on the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Eventually, he opened them again as his gaze landed on you, cradling the baby that didn’t seem to like the new setting these strangers had brought him to. 

“We can’t keep him,” he said to you as you bounced Harry in your arms, frantically trying to calm him down. 

“I know that,” you replied looking back at Severus. “Should we take him to Sirius? He’s his Godfather isn’t he?”

Severus shook his head as he stood up and made his way over to you. “We should go to Hogwarts. Dumbeldore can decide what to do with him.”

Severus looked at you as he brushed your cheek, thankful he had you in his life. You gently nodded as you leaned into his touch. 

“How will we get there?” you asked. 

“The Floo Network should do it. We’ll head to the Ministry and use one of their fireplaces.” Severus looked down at the crying baby in your arms and went over to a nearby cabinet. He began rummaging through the vials of potions until he found what he was looking for. 

“Is that safe?” you asked, “For children?”

“Yes, I’ll just give him two drops. It should help calm him down.”

Severus made his way over to you and you held Harry still as he gave him two drops of Draught of Peace. Harry eventually stopped crying and you felt him relax in your arms. Severus then went back to the cabinet and swapped the vial for another. 

“Sleeping Draught,” he explained. “So we won’t have any trouble on the way to Hogwarts.” Severus gave him one drop of the potion before putting it away and opening the door for you. 

“Severus,” you said as you stepped through it, “Perhaps we should send a message, let Dumbledore know we are on our way?”

Severus nodded and took out his wand. He paused and looked at you, remembering all the happy memories he had shared with you before he waved his wand, producing a patronus. You glared at the creature in shook as the beautiful raven you once knew had turned into a stunning Doe. Your mouth gaped open, unable to venture how this had happened. You knew a wizard’s patronus could change, but the circumstances to lead to such an event had to be traumatic. 

“W-why has your patronus changed to a Doe?” you asked.

Severus looked down at the ground before responding with a soft whisper. “It was Lily’s patronus.”


End file.
